Ranae's Swedish-Chicago Heritage: Abrahamson cousins in America

Oct 12, 2015

Abrahamson cousins in America

Great great grandfather Edvard Julius Abrahamson had an older brother. His name was Anders Gustaf Abrahamsson. Anders was born July 2, 1828 in Filipstad, Orebro, Sweden. He married Britta Maria Nilsdotter, in 1849 and they had 8 children. One of those children died in Sweden and in 1868 Anders and Britta emigrated with their remaining 7 children to the United States. The family settled in Chautauqua, New York.

Anders Gustaf and Britta Maria Abrahamson Family @1890

Laurentius Gustaf far right

Their son Lars Gustaf Abrahamsson was 12 when the family came to the U.S. He attended Augustana College and Seminary and was ordained a minister in the Augustana synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (now ELCA). He changed his name Lars to Laurentius, which at first sounded a bit pompous to me but my research indicates that it was a common practice in Sweden for ministers (priests as they are called in Sweden) to adopt a Latinized form of their name. He also received a doctorate degree and was known more commonly as Rev. Dr. L.G. Abrahamson a very influential person among the Swedish immigrants of Illinois. Laurentius and his wife had 6 children. Two boys and a girl did not survive to adulthood. Two adult daughters never married and a third daughter married but I was unable to tell if she had any children. L.G. Abrahamson was the contact in America named by Ruth Abrahamsson (Soderstrom) on her immigration manifest and he married my grandparents, Lydia Abrahamsson and Richard Kallman. He was, it seems, a close and respected cousin of great grandfather Robert Albin.

The Rev. L.G. Abrahamson had a long list of accomplishments, among them;
He pastored churches in Altona, Wataga and Chicago, most notably Salem Lutheran, Chicago.
He was associate editor of Augustana, the official organ of the Augustana Synod, from 1885 to 1896, and for six years was president of the Illinois Conference of the same synod. He also was a member of the board of directors of Augustana College and Theological Seminary, president of the board of directors of Augustana Hospital, Chicago, a member of the board of missions of the Augustana Synod and the Illinois Conference, and was a delegate to the International Lutheran World's Congress at Lund, Sweden, in 1901.
One of the greatest accomplishments and the one that gives me pause is this...
In 1894 he received the Swedish decoration of Knight Royal of the Order of the Polar Star from King Oscar II. Another link ??? between the Abrahamson family and dear old Oscar? hummmmm.

Dr. Rev. L.G. Abrahamson (wearing Polar Star)

Maria Florinda (Morris) Abrahamson

"History of the Swedes of Illinois" by Ernst Wilhelm Olson, Martin J. Engberg, Anders Schön
-Engberg-Holmberg Publishing Company, 1908 (book is now in public domain) includes this information about Rev. Abrahamson, my first cousin three times removed.